Say what you like about England, if there is one area in which they come second to no one, it is in the amount of work they provide for the physiotherapists -although two winters ago in Australia it reached belly-laugh proportions when the phsyiotherapist provided work for himself after breaking his finger during fielding practice.
There is a long way to go yet to match the physical wreckage on that tour, when no less than seven players (Darren Gough, Craig White, Martin McCague, Graeme Hick, Shaun Udal, Alec Stewart and Neil Fairbrother) had to be invalided home, but England had already made a start here with Michael Atherton's bad back, before Ronnie Irani was yesterday taken to hospital for investigations to pain in a similar area.
Irani has a history of back trouble, and it was a stress fracture a couple of years ago which forced him to modify his bowling action. In the words of the coach, David Lloyd, Irani ended the four-day game against Matabeleland ``bloody sore'', and it was a mild surprise when he passed himself fit for Sunday's one-day international against Zimbabwe.
The fact that he was used sparingly by his captain in that match had less to do with Irani not feeling fully fit, as Atherton not trusting his bowling. As Irani's batting has also been below par, he may find that if the X-rays come back clearing him to play on, England might demand a second opinion.
The tour manager, John Barclay, was yesterday attempting to play down implications that Irani might have to leave the tour, saying that the X-rays were purely precautionary, and that Irani did not suffer any undue reaction after the one-day game.
This, though, hardly squares with Irani travelling five hours by road to a Harare hospital yesterday morning, and Lloyd, for one, is feeling anxious.
Having already taken the decision not to call in a replacement when Dominic Cork pulled out shortly before leaving home, the coach admitted that it had been a caluculated risk and that losing Irani would ``leave us bare''.
Lloyd said: ``He has a soreness in the lower right back, and we need to find out whether it is long term. He's certainly not been the lad I know out here, and something just isn't right. He's not hitting the pitch with his bowling, and the one player we don't need to have any doubt about is the all-rounder.''
If the prognosis turns out to be terminal, England will this time be forced to call for a replacement, unless, of course, they are so confused by which players to pick they would prefer the team to pick itself. Two obvious alternatives are Surrey's Adam Hollioake and Yorkshire's Craig White.
Meantime, the team were busy coming to terms with their latest embarrassing defeat, and the fact that the bowlers treated themselves to a few drinks in the hotel bar on Sunday night, while the batsmen were conspicuous by their absence, tells the story of where the blame lay.
The real scandal about Sunday, however, was the fact that England have apparently escaped with no over-rate fine, despite being a full eight overs short at the cut-off point. The match referee, Hanumant Singh of India, either has a misplaced sense of seasonal goodwill, or else he needs a new watch for Christmas.